Inflammatory Bowel Disease

I’ve always been scared to take medication. I’m the kind of person who reads all of the side effects and then imagines I have all of them. When I was first diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, my gastroenterologist prescribed Rowasa enemas and then Colazal. I was scared to take those, even though I’ve since learned that they are among the mildest medications used to treat IBD.

I’ve struggled with falling asleep for most of my life. I’ll lie awake thinking of all of the things I have to do and worrying about whatever is going on in my life. But inflammatory bowel disease comes with its own sleep-related challenges, including waking up throughout the night to run to the bathroom and sleep problems caused by Prednisone. Here are a few tricks I’ve used throughout the years to help me fall asleep.

The end of 2018 brought some unexpected possibly colitis-related symptoms. I guess that’s how it goes with these chronic illnesses: things are going smoothly and you get lulled into a sense of stability, and then your body starts doing weird things again.

Traveling with inflammatory bowel disease is stressful. Not only do we have to deal with digestive-related symptoms, but our immune systems are often suppressed from the medications we’re taking. The New York Times recently published a guide to traveling and eating safely with an autoimmune disease. It has advice about traveling with medications, what to eat, and apps that can help make life easier while traveling.

I love holiday shopping. I’m almost done with my Christmas shopping and it’s barely December. But for those of you still looking for gift ideas for your loved one with inflammatory bowel disease (or other chronic illness), here are some ideas.

It’s easy to complain about inflammatory bowel disease. The constant worrying about where the nearest bathroom is, what you should and shouldn’t be eating, and side effects of medications – it’s not fun. But strangely, I don’t wish for a life without it. Having ulcerative colitis has changed me, and I wouldn’t be who I am today if I hadn’t been through all of the challenges I’ve faced. So with Thanksgiving coming up, here are five reasons why I’m grateful for my ulcerative colitis.

One of the most frustrating things about diet and IBD is the lack of research. Fortunately, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation has been making an effort to change that. A clinical trial is currently enrolling individuals with mild to moderate Crohn’s disease to test two diets.

One of the most popular posts on my blog is one from last year, A Guide to Using Entyvio Connect. I guess that isn’t surprising, since I wrote the post after experiencing much confusion and inconvenience trying to get Entyvio Connect to reimburse my health care provider for the cost of my Entyvio infusions. I’ve been meaning to update that post after having been through the process again this year, but I’ve been dreading it. I wish I had better news, but it was just as dizzying this year.

I recently read the book Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organby Giulia Enders, on the recommendation of someone in my Crohn’s and Colitis support group. Dr. Enders is a German gastroenterologist who studies the gut, the microbiome, and the connection between the gut and the brain.

Medications

I’ve always been scared to take medication. I’m the kind of person who reads all of the side effects and then imagines I have all of them. When I was first diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, my gastroenterologist prescribed Rowasa enemas and then Colazal. I was scared to take those, even though I’ve since learned that they are among the mildest medications used to treat IBD.

One of the most popular posts on my blog is one from last year, A Guide to Using Entyvio Connect. I guess that isn’t surprising, since I wrote the post after experiencing much confusion and inconvenience trying to get Entyvio Connect to reimburse my health care provider for the cost of my Entyvio infusions. I’ve been meaning to update that post after having been through the process again this year, but I’ve been dreading it. I wish I had better news, but it was just as dizzying this year.

I have spent many months trying to figure out how to get Entyvio Connect, a patient assistance program for individuals on Entyvio, to reimburse my health care provider for the cost of the medication for my infusion in January. It has involved many phone calls to my provider and to Entvyio Connect to get it all sorted out. But I finally did! Here is a guide to how it works.

A few months ago I said I would post soon about the cruise I was going on and Entyvio Connect. Well, I still haven’t completely figured out Entyvio Connect, but I did survive the cruise! It didn’t go perfectly smoothly, but I did get through it without any major incidents

Health Insurance

One of the most popular posts on my blog is one from last year, A Guide to Using Entyvio Connect. I guess that isn’t surprising, since I wrote the post after experiencing much confusion and inconvenience trying to get Entyvio Connect to reimburse my health care provider for the cost of my Entyvio infusions. I’ve been meaning to update that post after having been through the process again this year, but I’ve been dreading it. I wish I had better news, but it was just as dizzying this year.

I have spent many months trying to figure out how to get Entyvio Connect, a patient assistance program for individuals on Entyvio, to reimburse my health care provider for the cost of the medication for my infusion in January. It has involved many phone calls to my provider and to Entvyio Connect to get it all sorted out. But I finally did! Here is a guide to how it works.

Traveling with IBD

Traveling with inflammatory bowel disease is stressful. Not only do we have to deal with digestive-related symptoms, but our immune systems are often suppressed from the medications we’re taking. The New York Times recently published a guide to traveling and eating safely with an autoimmune disease. It has advice about traveling with medications, what to eat, and apps that can help make life easier while traveling.

Around the time of my last Entyvio infusion in late January, I started having some mild ulcerative colitis symptoms for the first time in over a year. I've been trying to deal with the stress and anxiety with gratitude and perspective.

I was recently asked to contribute to a post on traveling with IBD on the My Therapy blog, and I am excited to share it with you! The post contains a helpful, downloadable checklist for traveling with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and stories from me and others about our experience traveling with IBD.

A few months ago I said I would post soon about the cruise I was going on and Entyvio Connect. Well, I still haven’t completely figured out Entyvio Connect, but I did survive the cruise! It didn’t go perfectly smoothly, but I did get through it without any major incidents

Meditation

I’ve struggled with falling asleep for most of my life. I’ll lie awake thinking of all of the things I have to do and worrying about whatever is going on in my life. But inflammatory bowel disease comes with its own sleep-related challenges, including waking up throughout the night to run to the bathroom and sleep problems caused by Prednisone. Here are a few tricks I’ve used throughout the years to help me fall asleep.

Around the time of my last Entyvio infusion in late January, I started having some mild ulcerative colitis symptoms for the first time in over a year. I've been trying to deal with the stress and anxiety with gratitude and perspective.

We all know that stress can exacerbate the symptoms of a chronic illness. Mindfulness meditation is a tool I use to calm myself down in stressful moments. Here's a guide to get you started with meditation.

Inspiration

I love holiday shopping. I’m almost done with my Christmas shopping and it’s barely December. But for those of you still looking for gift ideas for your loved one with inflammatory bowel disease (or other chronic illness), here are some ideas.

It’s easy to complain about inflammatory bowel disease. The constant worrying about where the nearest bathroom is, what you should and shouldn’t be eating, and side effects of medications – it’s not fun. But strangely, I don’t wish for a life without it. Having ulcerative colitis has changed me, and I wouldn’t be who I am today if I hadn’t been through all of the challenges I’ve faced. So with Thanksgiving coming up, here are five reasons why I’m grateful for my ulcerative colitis.

Around the time of my last Entyvio infusion in late January, I started having some mild ulcerative colitis symptoms for the first time in over a year. I've been trying to deal with the stress and anxiety with gratitude and perspective.

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